Combined portable gasoline tank and pump



' June 24, 1930. l m, VNUK 1,758,186

COMBINED PORTABLE GASOLINE TANK AND PUMP Original Filed Aug. 13, 1928Patented June 24, 1930 FRANK J. VNUK, OF CLARKSOII, NEBRASKA.

COMBINED PORTABLE GASOLINE TANK AND PUMP Application filed August 13,1928, Serial No. 299,362. Renewed February 27, 1930.-

My invention relates to portable gasoline containers and tanks and itsprimary object is the provision of such a device which will beparticularly useful in traction plowing and in similar places requiringa considerable quantity of liquid fuel in a portable container andhaving a pump for conveniently withdrawing the liquidvfrom thecontainer.

Another of my objects is the provision of a carriage for the container,the carriage beingof such a form and nature that the entire device maybe drawn about easily by horses or a tractor or any other kind of draftmeans.

Another of my objects is the provision of a 35 pump having a casingwhich may be locked so as to prevent unauthorized access to the pump andparticularly to the liquid in the container.

Still another of my objects is the provision 20 of a pump having twooutlets so that either the one or the other may be used at theconvenience of the operator and for the particular purpose for which thepump is to be used.

Having in view these objects and others 25 which will be pointed out inthe following description, I will now refer to the drawings, in

which The figure is an illustration showing the tank with parts brokenaway, the carriagefor the tank, the pump, and the pump housing.

The tank 10 is the container for the liquid and it is preferably in theform of a steel drum such as those extensively used at present forstoring and transporting gasoline and other fuel and lubricating oils.This drum is provided with an opening for introducing the liquid intothe drum and the opening has a closure 11 for preventing loss ofgasoline or other liquid from the drum by evaporation or otherwise. Thisclosure is provided with means for looking it in closed position so asto prevent unauthorized access to the contents of the drum.

The pump includes a cylinder 12 having a lifting pump piston positionedtherein. The cylinder is clamped between two plates 13 as shown in thefigure and it is provided at its lower extremity with a strainer 14.Projecting upwardly from the top plate 13 is a pipe 15 which affords apassageway to the cylinder 12. The piston rod 16 extends upwardly fromthe piston and it is provided at its upper end with a rack 17, the rack17 cooperating with a pinion on the shaft 18 the movement of which iscontrolled through the crank handle 19. The passageway in the pipe 15 isbranched so as to form two separate outlets 20 and 21 for the liquidfuel. The pipe 20 has a valve 22 and a section of flexible tubing 23 forconveniently directing the flow of the gasoline. The pipe 21 has afaucet 2% so that the contents may be withdrawn from the container intoa pail or the like. Since only one of the outlets is to be used at atime, it is necessary to shut OK the other passageway through its valveso as to direct the entire flow through the desired passageway. I

The mounting and casing for the pump includes a base 25 having a curvedbottom surface so as to fit the contour of the tank 10. This base isfirmly secured to the wall of the tank. The pipe 15 is secured at itsupper extremity in the lower portion of the base 25 and the branching ofthe passageway occurs within the base. The pipes 20 and 21 are eachsecured by means of screw threads into the base 25., Also secured to thebase 25 is the central portion 26 of the housing. This portion extendsupwardly a sufficient distance to cover all of the external workingparts of the pump when the pump cylinder is in its lowermost position.The portion 26 also has secured thereto a. web which carries the support27 for the bearing of the shaft 18.

Two doors 28 and 29 are hingedly connected to the portion 26 of thehousing. The door. 28 closes upon the handle member 19 in a manner, suchthat the handle 19 may be actuated only after first opening the door 28.The door 29 is provided with a notch for receiving the hose 23 so thatthe hose may project into the casing in the manner shown in the drawing.The notch in the door 29 is too small to permit the nozzle to bewithdrawn through the aperture when the door is closed. Both doors areprovided with hasps which engage the same ring on the portion 26 of thecasing so that both doors may be simultaneously locked or unlocked witha single padlock.

A feature of prime importance is the carriage at 30. This includes apair of skids having apertures at the forward ends for connecting anydesired draft means thereto. The skids are braced heavily by means ofcleats and cross braces and the container 10 is secured so that it isseated in arcuate notches in the cross braces. The container is furthersecured to the carriage 30 by means of straps 31 passing over thecontainer and secured at their ends to the carriage.

The device as above described is useful wherever considerable quantitiesof gasoline or other liquid fuel are required to be used. It isparticularly useful in farming operations requiring a tractor or aportable gasoline engine. The need'for the device on the farm arises notonly during traction plowing but also when the gasoline engine is to beused for grinding feed, shelling corn, filling the silo, and othersimilar operations. The device is very portable so that it does notrequire much effort to transport itto any desired place on the farm. Thecontainer 10, which is preferably a steel drum of the most convenientcapacity, may be filled whenever empty by the driver of an oil truck.The gas tank of the tractor may be filled by the use of the pump and thedoors may then be closed and locked to prevent others from removing theliquid from the containerlO. When leaving the tank for the night thedoors 28 and 29 are again locked and the casing then protects the devicenot only against thieves but also against the elements.

It is my object to dispose of these tanks through filling stations andoil men who may sell them or lease them to farmers and others requiringquantities of gasoline for their operations. In order to make the mosteffective use of them in this manner the closure for the filler. openingmay be provided with a standardized lock for which the oil man has theonly key so that no access can be obtained to the tank through thefiller opening except by the one man who is authorized to fill the tank.This not only protects the contents of the tank against theft but italso protects the oil men against competitors, especially when the tankhas been leased at a nominal rental.

While the main object of the tank is the storage and easy transportationof gasoline, it is evident that it is equally useful in connection witha number of other liquids where kerosene, distillate, or other fuel oilsare used as liquid fuels for internal combustion or other motors. Thetank may be effectively used in appropriate sizes for lubricating andother oils and where large quantities of water are used as in threshingwith steam engines or for filling the radiators of gasoline engines. Thedevice as described is very effective since it has a carriage wherebythe liquid may be easily transported and it has a pump whereby theliquid is easily removed from the container and conducted to the tank orother receptacle requiring frequent refilling with the liquid. I

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and eXact termsthat its construction and operation will be readily understood by othersskilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A portable liquid dispenser including a container having a U-shapedstrap secured thereto at its extremities, a liquid conductorcommunicating with the interior of said container and projecting outthrough said strap, manually operable means within said U- shaped strapfor forcing the liquid from said container through said conductor, and apair of closures hingedly secured to the opposite sides of said strapwhereby the interior portion of said strap may be entirely enclosed toprevent access to said manually operable means, one of said closuresbeing provided with a notch for embracing said conductor with saidnozzle positioned against the inner side of said closure whereby accessto said nozzle may be had only by first opening said closure.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

FRANK J. VNUK.

